As I have mentioned in the past, I am preparing a Harn campaign as party of my Moldy Oldies project. Originally my plan was to run a very short MERP game (a session of two) and then move on to other games that have sat on the shelf for too long. Harn was actually the only one that I had any plan to try for something long term. The MERP game has proved popular with the players (and me), so it will continue for a while.
This is not a problem, as it gives me more time to do Harn justice in my game prep. Not only do I plan to run it for a while, I also plan to make it part of my con efforts along with Tekumel, Cypher System, and Castles & Crusades. My hope would be to be at full speed with it by GaryCon next year where I would endeavor to run three to four sessions of each.
When I did my first pass research for Harn, the module "On the Edge" caught my eye. I like kicking campaigns off with a mystery adventure because it forces the players to engage with the setting in more than one way. It also revolves around rebuilding a bridge to shorten a trade route, which I found interesting and engaging.
This is not a review of "On the Edge". I will review it when I get the chance to run it at least once, and I may hold off until I have run it a few times.
The module is 26 pages long, excluding player handouts and character descriptions. Altogether, the product is 53 pages, so there is a fair amount of handouts and character sheets. The module says that it requires "Guthe Bridge", which I also purchased, and while I think I would heavily suggest it, I can see how you could make do without it. "The Silver Way", which I also have, is also suggested. I will be discussing those two products in another post.
The module is presented in a way that allows it to be run as either a 4 hour convention module, a four session game, or as part of a longer campaign. Kerry Mould, the author, is very clear throughout the module where you should start to facilitate each of these options. I appreciate this, because I am not sure how I want to use it yet.
Mysteries can be tricky to present in adventure modules. You need to get the information to the GM in a way that helps them understand the overall story, and is useful at the table. There is definite tension between those two goals.
One mistake I often see in mystery modules is writers that try to write the module to keep the mystery a mystery for the GM while they read it. This is a terrible idea. It makes me have to backtrack while I am prepping the module (because I didn't know someone is important), and it makes it very hard to use at the table. The author here does not fall into that trap.
The module opens with an overview, the background, and descriptions of the important characters. It then has a section that lays out the whole murder conspiracy and describes the culprits. There are some more character descriptions followed by a comprehensive timeline of events.
One thing I really like about the timeline is that for each event, the module gives a clue that the murderers left. This is very close to my own way of constructing mystery adventures, I go through the whole timeline of the crime and figure out ways that the culprits messed up that could lead to them getting caught.
I haven't prepped this module for play yet, which means that I have not gone through and made sure that there are at least three clues pointing towards each conclusion the players will need to draw. There are a lot of clues given, so I think there is a good chance that I will not have to add too many. One thing that I am a bit concerned about is that many of the clues require the players to make roles in order to even see them. I am not a big fan of this, as it can lead to the players getting stuck due to bad luck. I usually use their skill checks to see if they can draw more meaning out of the clues, instead of finding the clues. This is a lesson learned from GUMSHOE.
The timeline is followed by a description of the bridge and how it will be built, which is very interesting and no doubt useful in an expanded campaign. The final GM section presents options for expanding the campaign and provides the impacts/fallout from the adventure. All good stuff.
Like many Harn products, this one is filled with adventure hooks for other adventures. Almost every NPC description comes with at least three. This is a thing that I am coming to love about Harn, and I am happy, and a bit amused, to see that it continues even in an adventure module.
Based on my read-through, I am excited to run this module.
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